Elmo hosts successful 3-on-3 tournament

Elmo resident Howard Walker was inspired to give back to the community that made him a success.

Walker, who played basketball for the Salish Kootenai College Bison from 2004-06 and was a member of three consecutive American Indian Higher Education National championship basketball teams, has put on this 3-on-3 tournament for the fourth consecutive season.

The tournament, which was free and lunch was provided, gave several area kids an opportunity to showcase and work on their basketball prior to the Flathead Lake 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

“This is what inspires me (to host a tournament) there,” Walker said. “There is typically nothing to do out here in Elmo. I was born and raised here in Elmo and this is my way of giving back. I’ve gone to a lot of places to play basketball. Elmo has done a lot for me and this is something I wanted to do for them (to give back).”

Walker said he was “satisfied” about the turnout with several kids and parents showing up to participate in the one-day 3-on-3 event.

“We had some pretty good teams and we had more teams this year than we did last year,” Walker said. “We had a better turnout than we did last year.”

Walker credited several of the programs that helped make the 3-on-3 tournaments a successful one.

“I would just like to say ‘thanks’ to all of the programs that helped out,” Walker said. “Without them, we couldn’t make this possible. That includes the Diabetics program, tobacco program, the Reason To Live Native Program and the Tribal Health Dept. A big thanks to all of the volunteers that helped make this weekend successful.”